“The Life and Death of King Richard III”

Posted by Gail M. Burns - July 2010

The Tragedy of King Richard the third.
Containing: his treacherous Plots against his brother Clarence:
the pittiefull murther of his innocent nephewes:
his tyrannical usurpation:
and the whole course of his detested life and most deserved death.

- title page of the first edition of Richard III published in 1597

Doesn’t that sound like a trailer for a great “B” movie? According to that title page alone, King Richard III of England was not someone you would want as a friend and neighbor, let alone a king, and because of that reputation – undeserved, modern scholars believe – I have always harbored a slight dislike for Shakespeare’s play about him. Well, that and the fact that it is ponderously long. The current production at Shakespeare & Company is still long, but actor John Douglas Thompson, in concert with Tony Simotes, who conceived the production and adapted the script, and Jonathan Croy, who directed, have made the title character so fascinating and sympathetic, nay down-right likable, that you hardly notice your butt getting numb as the run time passes the three hour mark.

In this incarnation Richard of Gloucester is still a bad man, but he is also smart, funny, ambitious, and good company. He does horrible, horrible things, but you enjoy watching him.

Simply put, this production is what Shakespeare & Company does best – Shakespeare – in clean, coherent language with tremendous energy and passion. And, in this austere season of one-, two-, and three- character dramas, this production boasts not just a big cast, but a big cast of stars. What was it MGM used to boast – “More stars than there are in the heavens”? That is an apt description of this cast. Even if John Douglas Thompson dropped dead tomorrow, there would still be enough tremendous, tour-de-force performances to rave about. Even the lowliest spear-carrier is Somebody.

But Mr. Thompson is happily very much alive and within the first scene clearly establishes himself as the vortex around which all the strum und drang of the 15th century struggle for the British crown will swirl.

When asked in a recent interview what, if any, resemblance Shakespeare’s play, written circa 1591, bore to historical fact about Richard III (1452 –1485), Croy replied, “It’s a play, not a documentary.” And he’s right, its great drama and bad history. The only truly pertinent historical fact you need to know is that Richard III was the last of Plantagenet kings and the Earl of Richmond, who succeeded him, became King Henry VII, founder the Tudor dynasty and grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I, who was on the throne when Shakespeare wrote this play. The patronage of the ruling monarch, or at least his/her indifference, was of supreme importance to the Bard. So he wrote a play that made the Plantagenets look bad and the Tudors look fabulous. It’s as simple as that.

Well, I take that back, the highly inbred British monarchy is never simple, and while Simotes, Croy, and company do their best to hammer home the lines about who is related to whom and how, they don’t dwell on it or give you a genealogy in your program. So start with the premise that just about everyone on the stage is related somehow by blood or by marriage (and relations by blood don’t necessarily preclude marriage so long as a papal dispensation is acquired) and you’ll be safe. Bottom line: Richard wants to be King and he doesn’t care who he marries or murders along the way to get the crown.

Croy took over the directorial mantle, he was slated to assistant direct, after Simotes’ cancer diagnosis forced him to cut back on his frenetic summer schedule. Croy and Simotes have worked together on and off for decades, and Croy is an established director in his own right, and by all appearances the transition and collaboration was smooth for the whole company.

Yet while Simotes is credited with the “concept and adaptation,” I see Croy’s fingerprints all over this production. He is a dedicated, popular and successful director of high school productions for the Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare and I see the kind of antic energy that he harnesses so well in young people unleashed in these older actors. It is also important to remember that our concept of adolescence as an oasis between childhood and adulthood was unknown until the 19th century. Richard III was only 33 when he died. At 17 he was the military equivalent of a General, and led his troupes to decisive victories. These “mature adults” in positions of power were, by our standards, extremely young – and they behaved that way.

Consequently this is a very funny tragedy – in all the right ways. You laugh when Richard sweetly suggests to his two young nephews (William Palmer and Judah Piepho) that they will be most comfortable if they lodge in the Tower during their stay in London awaiting the coronation of the elder. You laugh when their mother Queen Elizabeth (Tod Randolph), upon being told she is summoned by the King, asks in horror and amazement who that might be. You laugh when Richard woos, weds, then conveniently murders Lady Anne (Leia Espericueta) the daughter-in-law of the late King Henry VI, in favor of his own cousin Elizabeth (Zoë Laiz) whose father and brothers he has recently sent to their heavenly rest.

Contributing mightily to the humor in this production is Nigel Gore as the Duke of Buckingham, Richard’s one loyal follower (never mind that he’s in it for himself). Gore is one of those actors who can make me laugh reading the phone book. Here he is particularly effective in the scenes that poke not-so-subtle fun at the gullibility of humankind and how politicians/monarchs have reaped the benefits of our sheepish herd mentality. Johnny Lee Davenport is an able assistant in these scenes as the Lord Mayor of London.

There are so many women in Richard III and they are so very vocal. The fact that they are played by powerhouse performers – Randolph, Annette Miller as Richard’s mother the Duchess of York, and Elizabeth Ingram as Queen Margaret, Henry VI’s widow, as well as Espericueta in an impressive Shakespeare & Company debut – certainly helps us hear them loud and clear. In Tina Packer’s exploration of Shakespeare’s female roles, she identifies these characters as women who are outside the power structure but who speak truth to power. Boy, do they ever! You can’t shut them up! In this regard Richard III is most centrally a battle of the sexes, as the men engage in testosterone-laced rituals of one-up-man-ship while the women wail for peace and justice – along with the inheritances due their own offspring and the revenge due their slaughtered loved ones.

“Thou cam’st on earth to make the earth my hell,
A grievous burden was thy birth to me,
Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy,
Thy school-days frightful, desp’rate, wild, and furious.
Thy prime of manhood, daring, bold and venturous,
Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous,
More mild, but yet more harmful, kind in hatred.
What comfortable hour canst thou name
That ever grac’d me in thy company?”

- King Richard III, Act IV, scene iv

That is Richard’s mother speaking In an interview Thompson gave three explanations of Richard’s sociopathic behavior – his physical deformities, his frustration as a warrior in a time of peace, and his relationship with his mother. As played by Miller she is definitely a most fearsome “Mommy Dearest,” but none of the women with whom he deals are kind or gentle.

As I said earlier, there are no uninteresting actors on the stage. Rocco Sisto has a chilling scene early on as Richard’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, who is one of the first people he has killed in his relentless pursuit of the crown. Bill Barclay and Ryan Winkles make hilarious work of his two executioners, and Winkles has also provided the stirring fight choreography. Josh Aaron McCabe lurks luxuriously as Sir William Catesby, Richard’s toady and mole. Palmer and Piepho, both Fall Festival alumni, are fine as the young princes.

It says something for your production when Jason Asprey (Lord Hastings) and Robert Biggs (Lord Stanley) play the boring parts.

Costume designer Arthur Oliver has created an historically accurate courtly array. Despite his deformities, which are built into his costumes, Oliver never fails to make Thompson look every inch the handsome man he is. Historians currently lean towards the theory that Richard III was not physically handicapped, that the hunchback, withered arm and deformed leg were literary inventions of later generations, like Shakespeare, determined to malign the Plantagenets for the benefit of the Tudors. In those days to imply that someone was physically imperfect was understood to mean they, and their family, had some character flaw or secret sin that made them so.

Patrick Brennan has provided the spare set, consisting of several broken arches that can be rearranged at will, a throne, and a couple of blocks that act as beds and benches. Les Dickert has created a space-defining lighting design which dutifully follows the actors as Croy sends them cavorting throughout the Founders’ Theatre. Composer and sound designer Scott Killian has used sound sparingly to enhance the text and action.

This is a real tour-de-force production for Thompson and the entire company. If you love Shakespeare, this is a must-see. If you are wondering where your theatre dollars are best spent this summer, here it is. This is a production you will be telling your grandchildren about in years to come.

Click HERE for the production Photo Gallery, and HERE for rehearsal shots.

Richard III runs July 2 through September 5 in the Founders’ Theatre on Shakespeare & Company’s Kemble Street campus in Lenox, MA. The show runs three hours and twenty minutes with one intermission and is suitable for ages 13 and up.

A wide range of ticket prices from $15 to $85 are available along with the Company’s many discounts including special Student, Senior, Military, Teacher, Rush, and Group rates. The popular Berkshire Resident 40% off discount also applies. NEW this season: Premium Tickets, where ticket price includes special early seating, a sumptuous glass of wine and decadent dessert! Check out the website for specific show dates, further information, to book your tickets, your group, party or rental and to learn about taking advantage of our cornucopia of special savings! Visit: www.shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353.

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